This invention relates generally to fabrication of metallic, hollow golf club heads (woods). More particularly, it concerns the support of metallic sole plates on head shells as during their interconnection.
During fabrication of golf club metal heads (woods) of hollow configuration, an opening is formed in the bottom wall of the head. That opening is typically covered or filled by attachment of a sole plate to the rim bounding the opening. The opening results from the lost wax process of fabrication, wherein metal core parts are removed from the wax shell via the precursor opening in that shell.
It has been proposed to support the metal sole plate in the opening formed by the metal shell, as by employing tabs on the sole plate, whereby the weld connection can then be accomplished; however, such tabs must then be removed as by grinding. Also, such tabs formed on the precursor wax "sole plate" are disadvantageously subject to unwanted break-off due to their weak support on that plate.